The Brother of Jared and his Questions

Sometimes I wonder why God gives some people in the scriptures clear answers, and others that are unambiguous, and to some, he is less then clear and makes them put more work into finding the solutions.

Often, I want God just to tell me what to do, and then I will do it.  And I admit there are times I have a clear answer, one that is unambiguous.  But most times I have to work a lot more for an answer and even then it isn't as clear as I would hope.

 It brings up the question of the leaders of the Church, even the prophet.  Christ is the Head of this Church.  Does God work with his Prophets the same way he works with me?  Giving some obvious direction, but other times allowing more work and decisions to be on the mortal side of things?

 Let me start with one of my favorite Book of Mormon stories.  It is the Story of the Brother of Jared. Specifically, when he struggled with what to do about the design he had been given for the vessels that would take the people across the great waters.

And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.

  And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.

  And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.

  And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish. (Ether 2:16-19)

The Brother of Jared was concerned and questioned the Lord.  With all that has been going on in the news, so many people have said thing likes, "The church doesn't want me to question," "the church can't allow doubt." Well, that's not true.  The Church started in the modern-day from Joseph Smith, a boy who doubted.  And here we see the Brother of Jared, who had received the design of these vessels from the Lord, questioning and doubting that this design was correct.  Did it mean the Brother of Jared lacked faith? We will get to that in a minute.

Questioning, learning, and struggling with the answers is how a testimony grows and is made secure.  The pattern of the Brother of Jared has always been the pattern to receive answers to prayers:

And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.

  And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.

  And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, according as the Lord had commanded.

  And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?

  And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? (Ether 2:19-23)

My reading of this has always shown me that when I pray and ask for help.  Sometimes the Lord knows that there is no room for slack in what should be done, so I am directed like the Brother of Jared (BOJ from here on), "thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom." And sometimes he knows there could be many different ways some better than others but all of them accomplishing the desired end, "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?"

I had not considered, until recently that this applies to church leadership as well.  It explains why Joseph Smith was allowed to give the translation to Martin Harris.  It tells why Peter was also directed to not refrain from teaching and baptizing Gentiles.  And it also explains why under different leadership the Church moves ahead, but there is a stamp of personality on the movement from the various Prophets, for example, the conservative strength of Ezra Taft Benson, in contrast to the highly public and energetic Gordon B. Hinckley.

 The proposed solution in the case of the Brother of Jared may have been different, let's say if it was Moses or Nephi, yet the result would have been safe-passage with lighted vessels.  Here was the Church for these people; the BOJ was their prophet.  First of all the Lord did not leave the BOJ entirely in the dark, he gave some warnings:

For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

  And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea? (Ether 2:24 &25)

Taking this information into account here is what the BOJ did:

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:

  O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.

  Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.

 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.

  Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men. (Ether 3:1-5)

"O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones" This statement is similar to, while maybe not quite as humble, the following statement made by the Savior himself "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)
Here is one of the principles I think we should understand about taking something to the Lord.  Having our heart saying things like "that thou hast all power and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man" or in my interpretation, "it's your call, ultimately," and also the added piece from Christ himself "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
In the BOJ's prayer, he says, "O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee, we may receive according to our desires." Our what?  Our Desires?  Does that mean what WE want? Yep!  But I think there is more to this principle before you run off and start praying for new TVs and the chance to win the next Sweepstakes to come to your mailbox.  First of all let's hear what Alma says, in his beautiful plea to the Lord that I feel is just as much a Psalm as those from King David, he says:

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

  But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

  I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life (Alma 29:1-4)

The cliché' "Be careful what you wish for…" comes to mind.  I read the news and feel that way about those who choose to stand in opposition to the Church and then seem shocked and hurt that doing so brings correction; because isn't that what's really going on here?  Having questions about the direction of the Church or, in a clarification of doctrine is not the problem.  The problem is in the application.  Even Christ vocalized his wish that another direction would be preferable "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:" but he was also willing to give all of his faith and power to he who was the source "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
 Speaking of desires, another scripture expounds on our prayers and our desires. In the Doctrine and Covenants, we read one of my favorite passages, and I often leave it as a stand-alone scripture:

Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (D&C 88:63)

 But here is what is said next:

Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you; And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation.  (D&C 88:64-65) 

It shall turn unto your condemnation wow! That is pretty harsh.  But is it the punishment of an Angry God like a father making his son smoke cigarettes till he is sick but on a much larger scale.  Or is he referring to the natural consequences of our choices and desires?  I think it helps to highlight the word "expedient." Whatever you ask for, it is apparent from the above two scriptures that God will give you if you have the desire.  I think (especially in the scriptures) you can draw a line between wanting something and desiring something.  We all have wanted that come and go; I often spend my days looking at new electronic toys to buy.  Like an IPAD.  When I got my IPAD, it was after I looked and wanted one, but then I kept looking and researching and thinking about it, and then I started working toward getting one.  I believe this is the difference between wanting and desiring.

 With this understanding, I think that what we are talking about here is more than just a casual ask.  In both cases, (asking for things expedient and not expedient) I am sure that we are talking about the "desires of your heart":

For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts. (D&C 137:9)

 Sometimes the consequences of the "desires of [our] hearts" are for, as Alma says, "death, or unto life." The results bring good or evil, prosperity or poverty, happiness or despair.  These consequences are ours to own.

The BOJ knew that he had to live with the choice he made, and he knew it would affect the lives of all of those that went with him, his family, and friends.  So he not only studied the problem in his own mind.  Once he made his decision, he did something from which we can all learn.  He asked the Lord to participate in the solution.

In one moment God said to the BOJ mostly "you tell me," and in the next, the BOJ humbly asked the Lord to "touch" his decision and accept and amplify it.

So here is the point I am making.  How much was more faith generated in BOJ with his experience of having to figure things out for himself with the question of how to put a light in the vessels, than the experience of being told to cut a hole in the top and bottom for air?  After cutting a hole in the top and bottom, we have no record of any new experience that resulted.  There is a reassuring idea that God will not let the Jaredites perish, and he cared for them and did not want them to get that point wrong.  But there is not much more story beyond that.

There are some fantastic benefits to listening to a clear direction from the Lord and Obeying.  I do not want to downplay that.  However, the Lord seeks ways that he can allow us to think for ourselves.

The story of the BOJ following the stones shows how the idea of having to work through a problem and have that problem ratified by the Lord is much more faith-promoting than having things just handed to us:

Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.

  And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.

  And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?

  And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.

  And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

  And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.

  And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?  And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

  And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. (Ether 3:5-14)

Moroni in his commentary about the stories on the Book of Ether said of the Brother of Jared:

And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.

  And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the brother of Jared; for so great was his faith in God, that when God put forth his finger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he had obtained by faith. (Ether 12:19-20)

I wonder if this same principle applies to just individuals or applies to humanity as a whole.  I think that God allows for even his chosen people to "wander in the desert," so to speak, as he let the children of Israel do.  Meaning that some principles are going to clearly and simply given, as to provide no room for mistake.  And others are going to be provided in a way that allows learning and contemplation, sometimes lasting years.  He often requires generations to pass before he enlightens their posterity, just like the children of Israel in their wanderings.   In modern times, I wonder, if an age of prejudice towards another race left the world, including the Lord's Church, from some of its progression.   There is no way other than finding out from God himself that we can know if possibly people of color would have been allowed the Priesthood before 1978.

Maybe it was only brought to pass because the culture in the United States and the Church changed allowing for a smoother transition because of a more favorable view to those of African descent for members.
OR maybe it just was time.

Again we must ask God himself to know the answer.
 But I wonder.  Which was it? Was it more like when the BOJ asked about the vessels and was told to cut the holes, thus showing the simple and clear direction from God?   Or was it more like the stone lights? And it was something that kept the work from progressing until the prophet figured it out for himself?

(for some idea of which it was an excellent article to read is https://byustudies.byu.edu/PDFViewer.aspx?title=7885&linkURL=47.2KimballSpencerb0a083df-b26b-430b-9ce2-3efec584dcd9.pdf)

My viewpoint is the latter.  In fact, the latter is how most revelation on a church-wide basis and personal answers to prayers come.  Why did Joseph Smith receive the Priesthood when he did?  He and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon and had some questions.  These questions lead to the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood and later the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Today in the Church, there are significant questions about this and that.  Women holding the Priesthood, the history of the Church, how we react to the ever-growing possibility of same-sex marriage.  They may seem like they are as insurmountable as the oceans that stood before the BOJ. Or possibly another category highlighted by what happened to the BOJ just before he asked the Lord about the vessels and their problems.
You see, the Jaredites had been led by the Lord and had found a comfortable spot.  And the stayed there for four years:

And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.

 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands.

(Ether 3:14 and 15)

There will always be obstacles to our progress.  There will still be obstacles to the Church moving ahead.  I know that not asking the Lord will halt our progression faster than about anything.

 The Lord is there for us.  He is Head of this Church.  If we choose, we can find the frailties of men intertwined throughout the history of the Church and its leadership.  To me, THAT is the miracle.  THAT is one of the most significant examples of the Atonement.  Before writing this, I am not sure I ever imagined the Atonement was provided both on an individual basis, but on a church and humanity basis as well.  I guess that is why it is called the "infinite atonement."

The Lord has grander designs for us than always, just handing over the answers to tough questions.  He wants us to take on the tough questions.  He knows that it will make us stronger individually and collectively.

 He would rather us struggle with a decision, and grow from it, than just hand it over to us.   A few years for the Brother of Jared to learn the lesson about praying is nothing to Christ.  His purpose is clear:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39)